As the party settles in for the night, they eat and discuss the
whereabouts of Magua. Duncan hears a noise which he cannot
identify and calls Hawkeye. Rather than answer his question
immediately, Hawkeye engages Duncan in a rambling discussion
about the afterlife, during which Duncan keeps hearing the noise
and getting more and more frantic. Finally Hawkeye casually
identifies the sound as that of wolves. They are interrupted by a
second sound, which causes Hawkeye to stop talking and call
Uncas.

Uncas slips away and Chingachgook, also alerted, sits by the fire,
pretending to sleep but carefully watching everything. Suddenly a
flash and the report of a gun interrupt them. A few moments later,
Uncas returns with the scalp of their stalker, which Chingachgook
identifies as belonging to an Oneida. The Mohicans and Hawkeye
debate with each other over their plan of action, and Hawkeye is
about to be overruled until he adopts the Indian method of
speaking and manages to convince the Mohicans of the efficacy of
his plan.

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Notes

Duncan has become nearly as sensitive to sound as Hawkeye and
the Mohicans. But he is still unable to identify the sounds he hears.
There is a humorous moment when he becomes more and more
frantic as Hawkeye seems to ignore him, until Hawkeye casually
identifies the sound as that of a wolf. When Hawkeye identifies the
next sound as that of a man, Duncan, who cannot tell the
difference, is astounded.

Hawkeye expresses some of his pragmatic nature when discussing
the afterlife with Duncan. He rejects the idea of predestination and
the traditional Christian view of what heaven will be like. Rather,
he thinks that paradise will look like what each man hopes it will
be like, and that the red man will stand as much a chance of going
to heaven as the white. "We serve a merciful Master," he says,
"though we do it each after his own fashion."

Chingachgook reveals his superiority and wisdom when, from the
tuft of the hair on the scalp, he identifies the man as belonging to
the Oneida. This is again a reference to the knowledge and skills of
the Indians.